Milwaukee Bucks Owner Extorted by Woman After 2022 Sexual Encounter, Prosecutors Say

Federal prosecutors said a Chinese-born divorcée blackmailed the owner of the Milwaukee Bucks after the two had sex at her Manhattan apartment following an initial contact on LinkedIn in 2022. The woman, identified in court records as Changli “Sophia” Luo, 46, demanded $1.2 billion, described as half the man’s estimated $2.5 billion fortune, and threatened to release videos and photos of the pair having sex, according to the criminal complaint.

Prosecutors said she reached out to his family, his ex-wife and his investors as part of the pressure campaign. After the encounter, Luo sent a message stating she loved the man and had been restraining her feelings. When he did not respond, she began a months-long effort that included claims he had sex with her while she was mentally incapacitated and warnings that her home had cameras recording everything.

com) Last May, FBI agents searched Luo’s apartment and found two phones, one hidden in a laundry basket and another inside a box of sanitary pads. One device contained pornographic videos and images that had the man’s face edited onto another man’s body, prosecutors said.

The man, who had recently divorced, initially agreed to pay Luo $6.5 million, including $1 million upfront, as part of a settlement reached during a Zoom mediation overseen by a former judge. Prosecutors said he went along with the payment to avoid harassment of his family and public embarrassment while denying her allegations.

After the settlement, Luo learned she had contracted HPV, a sexually transmitted infection that can lead to cancer. Her lawyers said she blamed the man and sought to renegotiate the agreement, at one point demanding as much as $1.215 billion. Luo was indicted last year on four counts including blackmail and destruction of records.

She was arrested on June 14, 2024, at JFK International Airport while attempting to fly to China. She was released on a $500,000 bond and placed under home detention. She has pleaded not guilty and is scheduled to face trial later this year. A representative for the Bucks owner confirmed he was the target of the alleged campaign after details were linked by the Wall Street Journal.